The silence pervading the ancient caverns was as eerie as it was complete. All around was a stillness one might have been able to reach out an feel. There was no screech of bats, no drip of condensation off of a stalactite, no low moan of wind across an opening off in the distant blackness. Just an oppressive and unbroken peace, and only this, was to be had at the mouth of Tartarus.
A faint baying was the first sound to grace the cave all day. Moments drew on and the sound grew into a raucous cacophony of excited barking. The tension abated from the air, giving the impression that the ancient prison was relieved to see the return of its warden. Over an outcrop of rock suddenly sailed a foal's ball, followed by the massive guardian himself. The watcher over the damned, feared throughout the world, bounded happily after the toy, slavering and barking with a look over each of his faces that said he'd chase that ball till the end of time, and couldn't be happier for it.
Standing at the mouth of the cave, watching all this play out was a lavender unicorn, looking tired but triumphant. Trotting down further into the dim netherworld, Twilight Sparkle followed the frolicking beast. After a full day of coaxing, trekking, and fetching, she was that much closer to averting the terrible disaster that would inevitably befall them next Tuesday. She was more than ready to return home and continue overseeing the emergency preparations, though a quick bath to rinse off the soot might be in order. The last leg of the journey there had lead through a fire swamp.
She rounded a bend in the path and found the cavern widened considerably. Cerberus lay off to the side, central head chewing on the ball while the other two panted happily after the full day of exercise out in the open. The well worn nature of the cave floor said the monstrous hound spent much of his time there, and with a quick survey of the area Twilight discovered what she was looking for. A long length of chain lay entwined around a stalagmite, the end broken off. Unraveling it from the rocky protrusion, the used her magic to reattach the tether to the beast's collar. Not a permanent fix, certainly, but better than nothing.
Cerberus took no notice as the unicorn made her exit. She cast a glance down into the further reaches of Tartarus. The darkness did not yield much, but a faint glow down in the deep and a whiff of sulfur told her this was the place. She shuddered and turned to leave. The gloom did little to dampen her spirits. Nothing bad could happen now. No monsters could get out now to terrorize the countryside, and no ancient evils could spill out to despoil the land. Everything was going to be fine.
Twilight trotted back around the bend in the tunnel and had to pull up short, or risk trampling the pony in her way. She was about to apologize for her heedless haste, when she suddenly recalled where she was. She quickly stifled a cry of surprise and kept still, so as not to risk even one more hoof step echo through the cave passage. She took stock of the situation with racing thoughts.
'Okay Twilight, the very first priority is to keep calm. Fear, though appropriate, will get you nowhere. Try not to think too hard about who this pony is or what they must have done to be here. They would not be in Tartarus without good reason, but wondering over that is best done away from the potentially dangerous pony. If they are a pony at all. The best course would be a series of measured teleportation jumps to maximize distance and disorient any sort of pursuit-' her train of though was suddenly derailed by the first voice she haf heard since leaving Ponyville, one rough from disuse, but not unkind.
"I am not about to eat you, if that is your worry."
Twilight couldn't help but squeak in surprise at having been discovered. Cover now blown, she took several steps back to distance herself and ignited her horn, mentally combing through her repertoire as she answered in a level voice.
"Look, I don't want any trouble. I was only bringing back Cerberus. He must have gotten loose earlier, and I led him back here. I don't know who you are or why you're here, that's your business. I was just seeing myself out," said Twilight. She hoped that the explanation of her presence would be sufficient to let her pass by. She had not encountered in he research any mention of an additional guardian of Tartarus, as she judged this figure to be. The absence of any aggression, or any lingering sign of imprisonment led her assessment away from that of 'prisoner'.
"I also wish for no trouble. I did wonder where the great beast had gone to, I did not hear him this morning as I usually do. When his barks had returned, I came to investigate. But it seems the echos led me astray. That is, until I heard your breathing behind me."
The pony turned as he spoke, and the light of Twilight's horn shone on his face. The stallion was old, nearly as old as Applejack's grandmother, but seemed somehow not quite as frail. He was mostly obscured by a cloak and hood which appeared nearly as old as himself. The hood revealed no protrusion of a horn, meaning he was either an Earth pony or a Pegasus. The cloak made it hard to determine more. The feature which stuck out more than the others was the nature of his eyes. The irises were devoid of color, as well as pupils. Meaning, the charcoal stallion before her was most likely blind. Which, she reflected, explained why his narrative made referenced to his hearing.
"Surely I am not so pretty a picture as others you must have seen?" he said, his dry lips quirking up at the edge in a small, wry smile. Twilight blushed, suddenly very aware that she had spent several moments staring at the stranger.
"Er, sorry. I didn't expect to meet anyone in a place like this. With the day I've had, I'm a little out of focus," she said, then suddenly realized the purpose of her visit to the potal of the damned. "Which reminds me, I have to be leaving. There's so much riding on me back home, and so much still to do!" Twilight began cantering in place, mind racing to form a plan of how to recover lost time.
"Then I would not dream of keeping you any longer. I bid you fare well on your journey home, Lady...?" said the stallion, letting the question trail off.
"Oh!, Uh, Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. It was nice meeting you!" she said, darting around the grey and black figure as she took off into the fading daylight. The figure stood, sightless eyes following the sound of her hoof beats as they receded from hearing. He seemed to be pondering something, weighing the risks and benefits of an internal quandary. He nodded silently to himself and turned to walk deeper into the cavern, toward the distant panting that lingered yet in a side passage. Well practiced hooves navigated the irregular stone floor as he meandered closer to the great guardian beast, who seemed to be chewing on something that squeaked with at least one of its maws.
A rhythmic thumping picked up as he neared the noise, signifying that he had been noticed. A gentle smile grew on his face as an outstreached hoof met with the soft fur of a gigantic belly, turned out in a well-practiced ritual of tummy-rubs. An appreciative grumbling met his ears as usual.
"Still so very like your father. You will stay and be good? I must leave for a short time. Make sure no one else tries to leave, thassagoodboy~" the stallion's words ended with the common canine-to-pony vernacular. A massive dousing with a tongue nearly as big as himself told him that the giant dogs would do just as they were told. Retreating from the lair of the beast, and detouring only to retrieve a worn saddlebag of meager possessions, the dark pony turned sightless eyes once more in the direction of his erstwhile guest.
Author's Note
A story I've been kicking about my brain for a while now. Replace Tirek with a myth-figure for now to remain nameless. Not many references just yet on who it is yet...
